Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) worries that if nothing is done to curb Medicare payment cuts to physicians, doctors will no longer be able to afford to run their own private practices.

“We’re at a crucible where if we don’t fight these cuts now, if we don’t get rid of them, we don’t reverse them, I don’t see how private practice survives,” Murphy said Thursday during The Hill’s "State of Medicare Physician Payments."

Medicare reimbursement payments for doctors were reduced for the fifth consecutive year on Jan. 1 when payments decreased by 2.83 percent. Some argue, however, that the cut is actually higher when inflation is taken into account.

Last year, reimbursements were also cut by 1.69 percent following a 2 percent cut the year before.

These cuts are nothing new with........

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